Look at the things around you, the immediate world around you. If you are alive, it will mean something to you, and if you care enough about photography, and if you know how to use it, you will want to photograph that meaningness ...

I was fortunate to attend Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky’s new Exhibition: Anthropocene at the National Gallery of Canada. Anthropocene is proposed as a new geological epoch, “defined by massive changes that has occurred to the planet and its ecosystems as a result of human activity.”

It seems everyone was out on Sunday. The UK High Commission had a float in the Capital Pride Parade and asked me to photograph the event for them. I always love to tell a good story and even better when it serves a good cause. Here are some favourites. Enjoy.

I was recently asked by a former client if I would cover a couple of events the UK High Commission had planned for the Capital Pride festival in Ottawa this past weekend. More specifically they were hosting a Movie Night under the stars at Earnscliffe (the High Commissioner's residence) and would be marching in the Capital Pride parade on Sunday.

The movie Pride is a 2014 British LGBT-related historical comedy-drama film written by Stephen Beresford and directed by Matthew Warchus. British High Commissioner Susan le Jeune d'Allegeershecque hosted a wonderful evening featuring Welsh Cheese, fruits and of course popcorn! There was an impressive guest list of dignitaries and foreign diplomats all celebrating diversity and the freedom to be who you are and love who you want to love.

Funds raised during the evening went to the Ten Oaks Project which brings together and supports children and youth from LGBTQ+ communities.

My favourite photo at this moment is A Winter’s Night by me. It is a photograph I took one night around 11 pm in mid-November. The ice had just frozen over and people were beginning to walk on it. I was unsure of whether or not I should venture out to capture the scene but I noticed a truck parked on the ice so it couldn’t be too bad. I was alone with the exception of a fox that crossed my path. I love the darkness with a glimpse of light streaming through what seems to be an opening in the clouds, the storyline of traces of human life and community in barren and cold conditions. And I especially love the stillness and mystery that it evokes. I currently have it hanging in my living room.

2.) Favourite inspirational quote about photography (or life in general)?

I have two favourite quotes:

“Work is love made visible” by Kahlil Gibran

And

“We are making photographs to understand what our lives mean to us.” Ralph Hattersly

3.) Favorite book – by whom and why?

Fifteen Dogs by Andre Alexis. I loved this book because it is a story about 15 dogs who received the gift of human consciousness from two gods on a bet. The bet was that dogs would be even more unhappy than humans are if they were given human consciousness. It was my favourite read because I love dogs of course and I like to think about these things i.e. what constitutes a good life and how one should achieve happiness and meaning in life. Also, one of the key canine protagonists Majnoun reminds me of my 10-year-old Golden Doodle named Saydee.

4.) Favorite photographer – why?

Yousef Karsh - As you know, I have already mentioned how much I like the work of Annie Leibowitz however, I thought I should also mention a Canadian master portrait photographer who happens to be from my hometown in Ottawa, Canada. His portrait of Winston Churchill is masterful. I’ve seen an original print of it in the Speakers Chamber in the House of Commons and it is arresting. He had an uncanny ability to know and connect with his subjects in a way that is congruent with their story. He has photographed some of the great personalities of the 20th century: Queen Elizabeth, Einstein, Bill Clinton, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, Picasso and others.

5.) One contemporary photographer, you’ve recently discovered?

David Burdeny… I love his colourful medium format aerial work. He makes gorgeous very large prints.

6.) Favorite photography gadget?

I love my Peak Design Slide strap. It enables me to switch cameras effortlessly as well as distribute the weight around my shoulders.

7.) The favorite song when traveling / for the road? Why? —>

The new rendition of Paul Simon’s classic: The Sound of Silence by American rock band: Disturbed. He sings it with such passion and the song’s lyrics really resonate with me. Actually, it might be a good theme song for my favourite picture.

8.) What’s in your camera bag?

I have both the Fujifilm XH1 and XT2, cameras along with several Fujifilm lenses: XF16MM, XF23F2, XF35F2, XF56APD, XF10-24, XF16-55 and the XF50-140. I also have a Fujifilm EF500 flash as well as a Godox V860II Flash.

We pushed off our annual outing of going to get our Christmas tree until the snow came. It just didn't seem right otherwise. Here it is almost mid-December and finally, we got a couple of centimetres of snow last night. So today was the day.

We decided to go to the Fallowfield Tree farm. We had been there three years before - the year before traveling to Yellowknife. It was a mild -3C so given that we are used to -30C at this time of year, that was no big deal. I was looking forward to photographing the typical Canadian winter scene of hay rides, Christmas trees, goats and horses. Since I still have Fuji's medium format camera I wanted to try it out at the tree farm.

I was asked by my client to cover some of the fun going on at the Long John Jamboree 2016. Boy Yellowknifers know how to have a good time in the middle of winter on a frozen Lake! With its beautiful Snowcastle, featured artists, curling Johnspiel, skijoring races, food, airplane and helicopter rides there is fun for everyone!

“If some countries have too much history, we have too much geography” Former Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King

For quite some time I have wanted to head back to the Northwest Territories to revisit and photograph some of the places where I grew up particularly the culture, the land and its people. Last January while out on assignment for the Government of Scotland, I was photographing the Sir John A. MacDonald annual Kilt Skate on the Rideau Canal in -30C weather. We dropped into the Shaw Centre (formerly Ottawa Convention Centre) to warm up and visit the Spectacular NWT exhibit. I had asked if they needed any photographers up north but it seemed they were more in need of Chartered Accountants which is what my husband does. To make a long story short, Eddie was offered a good position in Yellowknife, NWT! The offer was to good to pass up and what an adventure it would be!

I might have preferred to fly there though as we could be there in four and a half hours via Air North. However, we were reluctant to ship our beloved Saydee as cargo in the belly of a 737, it would be too expensive to ship our car more than 5,500 kilometres and Eddie had never crossed Canada on land before. On the other hand, I thought it would be a great opportunity to photograph the beautiful and expansive landscape that we call home. And since I might be the only Fuji Photographer in Canada north of the 60th parallel, I asked Fujifilm Canada if they might be interested in sponsoring me on this journey. They agreed and provided me with a brand new Fuji X-T1 Graphite Silver Edition and the new XF 16mm f/1.4 R WR lens so that I would be equipped to capture the Aurora Borealis! I was thrilled.

So we set out, packed our belongings, loaded the car and headed out for what would be a 10 day drive across Canada. We left from Ottawa, Ontario and drove via the Trans Canada Highway with scheduled stops in Sault Ste. Marie, Thunderbay, East Braintree, Moose Jaw, Banff, Jasper, High Level and finally Yellowknife, NWT. In total we drove 5,825 kilometres, driving on average 7.5 hrs per day. We could have taken more time to get through Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan and made more touring stops but I was motivated to spend a few rest days in the Rockies before heading north to Yellowknife.

DAY ONE - TO SAULT STE. MARIE 794KM

We left on October 7th which was just prior to peak season for the fall colours, however we did notice some fall colours setting in as we travelled north-west. We were happy to discover that the hotel I booked was located right beside the Elsie Savoie Sculpture Park - a great place to walk Saydee and admire some of the sculptures at the same time.

DAY TWO - TO THUNDER BAY 701 KM

On day two, we left Sault Ste. Marie along the Trans Canada Highway and made our way to ThunderBay, Ontario. For much of the drive we would be hugging the coastline of the rugged shores of Lake Superior. We stopped at Rossport Coastal Trail for a small photo break. It was wet, windy and cold but beautiful anyway. I always feel energized when I’m near the water.

I certainly could have stayed longer.

DAY THREE - TO EAST BRAINTREE 584 KM

On Day three we made our way to East Braintree, Manitoba. Taking the advice of my brother-in-law we stopped at Kakabeka Falls Provincial Park. The Kakabeka Falls are 40 metres high and is the second highest waterfall in Ontario.

It took us three days to leave Ontario and I learned that there isn't a Tim Horton's coffee franchise every 100 kilometres or so! We stopped for a coffee and a muffin at Rubin's Burger Scoop. Soon after we found a place where you could shop for Wild rice, moccasins and fudge.

We arrived at my sister Julie's house around 3:00 pm. Depite having an authentic turn-of-the-century jailhouse on the property, her home was warm and inviting. Julie had prepared a lovely thanksgiving dinner for us.

DAY FOUR - TO MOOSE JAW 773 KM

The trip to Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan was rather uneventful. The prairies are rather flat. Except for the odd grain silo, you can expect to see flat wheat fields and blue skies. It was an unusually warm day and it read 29 degrees Celsius when we arrived in Moose Jaw. Fortunately, an Ice Cold Beer could be available if we wanted it.

DAY FIVE -TO BANFF 830 KM

It was another full day of Prairie landscapes and what seemed to be an endless ribbon of highway on our way to Banff. We did encounter a fierce windstorm with winds up to 100 km per hour. This made it a bit more challenging to drive as we had to continuously adjust our cargo bag straps on the roof of the car and dodge the tumbleweeds that kept blowing across the highway. Apparently it is always windy on the Prairies.

Boy were we excited when we finally got a glimpse of the Rocky Mountains!

DAY SIX - VISIT TO MORAINE LAKE AND LAKE LOUISE

We decided at the last minute to take a trip to Moraine Lake as it was the last day it would be open for the season. We were there once before in 2008 and recalled how beautiful and serene it was. Moraine Lake is famous for being the site where the image that graces the Canadian $20 bill was taken. Even though it was cold and foggy, the colour of the lake was still the vibrant turquoise that I had remembered.

After hiking around Moraine Lake, we made a short stop to the popular Lake Louise.

DAY SEVEN - TO JASPER 288 KM

Ok, I’ll admit that I was sorry to leave Banff. I wish we could have stayed a few more days as there is so much to see and do. On the way out, we drove up to Mount Norquay which had an amazing view. Saydee didn’t mind getting out of the car to explore the mountain slope. We had to keep her on the leash though as she would certainly have run towards the herd of female Elk that were grazing on the slope. It was really nice of the Alberta government to leave behind a couple of cozy red Adirondack chairs. It could only have been better if we had brought with us a thermos of coffee.

We saw more beautiful mountain vistas along the Columbia Icefields Parkway. I concluded I would never tire of them.

DAY EIGHT - VISITING MALIGNE CANYON AND JASPER AREA

This was a much needed rest day. We decided to go for a hike around Maligne Canyon which is over 160 feet deep and has a few waterfalls and streams. I took a few photos along the way and wished that I had brought my tripod, but then again it was a rest day. The Bull Elk seemed to agree with me as I saw him resting across the street from our hotel in the parking lot.

DAY NINE TO HIGH LEVEL 860 KM

Two more driving days to Yellowknife. Eddie was a bit concerned as it would be quite a long day and he wanted to make certain we arrived at our destination before it got dark as he had been hearing about Elk, Moose and Bison on the roads. For part of the trip it seemed that we were in the Prairies again.

DAY TEN - TO YELLOWKNIFE 716 KM

We started early in the morning. At -3C it was cold out but we were excited that we had only one more day to go.

Earlier this week I was asked by the Scottish Government to cover for them the Great Canadian Kilt Skate which would be held in conjunction with Winterlude. So this morning in -30C hundreds of skaters in their kilts and tartans congregated on the Rideau Canal to honour the bicentennial of Canada's first Prime Minister: Sir John A. MacDonald and his Scottish heritage. I wondered what the skaters would be wearing under their kilts on a day like today? While there were a few hardy souls with bare knees, many were wearing tights and long-johns.

They skated towards Confederation Park where the Mayor of Ottawa proclaimed it Sir John A. MacDonald Day. Festivities included some Highland Dancers and cake was served. The event was organized by the Scottish Society of Ottawa and similar skates were held in Montreal, Winnipeg, Saskatoon and Calgary.

Many thanks to #Fujifilm Canada for lending their newly released #16-55 F2.8 and the 50-140 lens. They both worked flawlessly in the cold!

Last night we were invited to the Ottawa premier of Corner Gas: The Movie. Creator of the show Brent Butt was there with some of the other cast members, Prime Minister Harper's wife Laureen, the Honourable Shelley Glover, Minister of Heritage and other VIPs. With the red carpet, screening and reception it was looking a bit like Hollywood here in the Nations capital region. Here are some of my favourite photos from the evening and I must say I really enjoyed the movie. It really is refreshing to see our stories being told with Canadian talent and in our own way. When asked whether he could have imagined the success of Corner Gas, Brent Butt said that he didn't think anyone was going to watch it so they didn't have an agenda but just did what they thought was really good. :)

If you would like to use one of these pictures, please contact Newzulu Canada for licensing information.

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I was fortunate to attend Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky’s new Exhibition: Anthropocene at the National Gallery of Canada. Anthropocene is proposed as a new geological epoch, “defined by massive changes that has occurred to the planet and its ecosystems as a result of human activity.”